The New Security Reality in the North
The quiet heard on Israel’s northern border is an unusual sound. Prior to October 8th, the hum and bustle of everyday life flowed through the communities and cities. After the 2006 Lebanon War, the UN’s Security Council Resolution 1701 was put in place, to ensure that life on either end of the Israeli-Lebanese border could flourish. Despite this, just beyond the border, the Hezbollah terrorist organization worked over many years to turn southern Lebanon into a military stronghold, in direct violation of the resolution. As Israelis in the north continued with their day-to-day lives, the looming threats, only a few meters away from their homes, intensified.
On October 7th, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal massacre on the communities of southern Israel resulting in the abduction of 251 hostages, and the murder of more than 1,200 people. Not a mere day later, the Hezbollah terrorist organization launched an unprovoked attack on Israel, with a barrage of rockets and UAVs into northern Israel. This forced more than 60,000 civilians to evacuate their homes for over a year, leaving the once lively streets and homes a mere shadow of what they once were.
Since October 8th, 2023, Hezbollah fired over 17,000 rockets, missiles, and UAVs into Israel. Homes and communities were damaged, and more than 100 square kilometers of land were decimated. The sound of sirens shrieking, warning of incoming rockets and UAVs, became an emblem of the war in the north. Northern Israel was aflame and we had an obligation to change it.
In these attacks, dozens of civilians were killed, including children. One of Hezbollah’s deadliest attacks during this period was the attack on Majdal Shams, a Druze community in the north, in which the terrorist organization launched an Iranian Falaq-1 rocket at children playing on a soccer field. In this attack, Hezbollah murdered 12 children and injured many more. This is a testament to their brutality, as they fire indiscriminately, murdering children.
To read more about the horrific attack click below:
Hezbollah had prepared for war for 17 years. They embedded weapons across Lebanon, and built up their fire capabilities, further reestablishing themselves as the most heavily-armed terrorist organization in the world with a wide and advanced weapons arsenal.
Elite Radwan forces - Hezbollah’s elite commando force - were trained to invade Israel according to the ‘Conquer the Galilee’ plan, an October 7th style massacre, aimed at targeting the communities of the north. Needless to say, these were blatant violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to uphold the peace in the northern arena.
The IDF has operated against the threats Hezbollah posed on the northern border; we conducted aerial operations all throughout Lebanon. We succeeded in eliminating key commanders in Hezbollah’s chain of command, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, as well as conducting precise aerial strikes on Hezbollah strongholds, including weapons smuggling routes from Syria and Hezbollah’s inventories of terror funds.
Last September, we started our limited, localized, targeted raids in southern Lebanon, in which our troops exposed and dismantled huge amounts of tunnels, weapons and bunkers embedded inside civilian areas in the border area, preventing Hezbollah’s execution of the ‘Conquer the Galilee’ plan. From September to November 2024, IDF troops directly encountered Hezbollah terrorists on the ground, eliminating over 4,000 terrorist operatives.
What is the Situation Today ?
Our focus throughout the war has been to allow the return of Israel’s northern residents to their homes, in safety and security, so that the joy and prosperity, once a sign of the strong northern communities, can once again thrive.
IDF military achievements created the necessary conditions for the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon that came into effect on 27.11.24. Since then, the IDF has been gradually passing responsibility of most areas in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese Armed Forces under the supervision of the US Monitoring Mechanism.
Based on the current situation and in coordination with the parties of the agreement, the IDF will temporarily remain deployed in 5 strategic points along the border in southern Lebanon, so that we can defend the residents of northern Israel from any immediate security threat.
This is a temporary measure until the Lebanese Armed Forces are able to fully implement the understandings.
The IDF will continue to act in accordance with political directive and ensure that Hezbollah cannot re-arm or pose a threat to the security of Israeli citizens.
The IDF’s mission is to uphold the quiet on the northern border, so that the music and laughter can once again be heard in the north. I hope that we’ll see the northern communities thrive again in the near future.
Until next time,
LTC Nadav Shoshani
Thanks for keeping us well informed . May G bless Israel
Thanks for the detailed update. Much appreciated.